By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
A Zeeland Township committee has begun work on a new master plan for the township.
The committee, which includes Township Board members, planning commissioners, Township Manager Josh Eggleston, and township zoning staff, are working on creating a document that will guide future land use and development decisions. It’s the first update to the master plan since 2019.
The Township Board in February contracted with the planning consultant Williams & Works to help the committee put together a plan and create a mechanism for the community to provide input. The township agreed to a base contract with the consultant for $31,760, but is likely to tack on additional costs tied to holding any public input sessions, such as an open house.
The master plan is being worked on at a time where the township is facing development pressure in two directions - east from Holland Township and the city of Zeeland and west from the city of Hudsonville. One of the challenges the group is grappling with is how to address a demand for new housing in the township while at the same time trying to maintain its rural and agricultural character.
“What I hear from my constituents, and me being on here, is fight for all I can to keep this community rural,” Planning Commissioner Tim Miedema said. “We are agricultural, that’s what we are here for. Anytime we have a Planning Commission meeting for rezoning, the people that come out to complain, are here complaining, ‘that’s not why I moved to this township. I moved to this township because it’s rural.’”
The most recent estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show the township’s population last year at 12,305, a 2.3 percent increase from the official 2020 census figure of 12,031. Meanwhile, neighboring townships such as Jamestown and Blendon have seen significantly higher estimated population increases as more development occurs in those townships – 10.1 percent in Jamestown from 2020 to 2025 and 7.3 percent in Blendon in that same timeframe, census data shows.
According to recent housing data, nearly 92 percent of homes in the township are owner-occupied and there’s a vacancy rate of 1.9 percent – meaning anyone wanting to move into the township is likely looking at a long wait before a house becomes available.
The committee is proposing a survey, two visioning workshops and an open house to get input from the community on the plan. The Township Board is expected June 16 to consider whether to direct the committee to pursue that direction.
“I really want to make sure this living document is a good representation of what our township wants, because that will help our Planning Commission, it will help our board, it will help our (Zoning Board of Appeals),” Township Supervisor Kerri Bosma said.
Zeeland Record
A Zeeland Township committee has begun work on a new master plan for the township.
The committee, which includes Township Board members, planning commissioners, Township Manager Josh Eggleston, and township zoning staff, are working on creating a document that will guide future land use and development decisions. It’s the first update to the master plan since 2019.
The Township Board in February contracted with the planning consultant Williams & Works to help the committee put together a plan and create a mechanism for the community to provide input. The township agreed to a base contract with the consultant for $31,760, but is likely to tack on additional costs tied to holding any public input sessions, such as an open house.
The master plan is being worked on at a time where the township is facing development pressure in two directions - east from Holland Township and the city of Zeeland and west from the city of Hudsonville. One of the challenges the group is grappling with is how to address a demand for new housing in the township while at the same time trying to maintain its rural and agricultural character.
“What I hear from my constituents, and me being on here, is fight for all I can to keep this community rural,” Planning Commissioner Tim Miedema said. “We are agricultural, that’s what we are here for. Anytime we have a Planning Commission meeting for rezoning, the people that come out to complain, are here complaining, ‘that’s not why I moved to this township. I moved to this township because it’s rural.’”
The most recent estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show the township’s population last year at 12,305, a 2.3 percent increase from the official 2020 census figure of 12,031. Meanwhile, neighboring townships such as Jamestown and Blendon have seen significantly higher estimated population increases as more development occurs in those townships – 10.1 percent in Jamestown from 2020 to 2025 and 7.3 percent in Blendon in that same timeframe, census data shows.
According to recent housing data, nearly 92 percent of homes in the township are owner-occupied and there’s a vacancy rate of 1.9 percent – meaning anyone wanting to move into the township is likely looking at a long wait before a house becomes available.
The committee is proposing a survey, two visioning workshops and an open house to get input from the community on the plan. The Township Board is expected June 16 to consider whether to direct the committee to pursue that direction.
“I really want to make sure this living document is a good representation of what our township wants, because that will help our Planning Commission, it will help our board, it will help our (Zoning Board of Appeals),” Township Supervisor Kerri Bosma said.
